Chapter 126: What it means to be cared for

Esper Harris and Esper Tracer were smirking when Brent came out from the bathroom. He was sure his face was a little flushed. It had taken him 20 minutes after he’d hung up on Sergei to be able to gather himself.

He’d stayed in the shower, turned the water to cold after the steam from the warm water had made his already hot body burn.

Hearing his voice had been…Brent’s breath still shook as he recalled the moment when he first heard his voice.

Aunt Dina was watching Brent carefully, her gaze narrow.

“Are you okay?” She asked carefully, her gaze heavy as Brent handed back the phone meekly. Brent let out a sigh, a heavy one, and Aunt Dina’s face grew even more severe.

“I…I’ll be okay.” Brent said, but it wasn’t convincing. Aunt Dina made a rough grunt in the back of her throat before she reached for Brent and pulled him close. Brent was surprised that she was hugging him, the heat from her body higher than normal.

“You look like a dazed rabbit. I should have let you speak to him sooner. I apologise.” Aunt Dina muttered and Brent felt his eyes go wide “Did he tell you about the dangerous things they are about to do?” She asked and Brent swallowed.

“I…kinda? I couldn’t-” Brent didn’t even know what he was saying. Aunt Dina squeezed him.

“It’s alright. Come on, let’s go sit on the couch, have a few drinks, and I’ll explain what’s happening and what’s the plan. My guess? We got about two weeks before we see them here. All of them.” Aunt Dina said gruffly.

Brent blinked.

“What do you mean by all?” Brent asked and Aunt Dina chuckled, pulling back to stare down at Brent, her eyes a simmering red that made him think of warm, burning logs on a campfire. Her smile was warm as she held onto his upper arm, giving it a squeeze.

“Brent, we’re going to have the whole Woods clan descend on us. I have very little doubt about that. Henry is not about to let his child do something reckless, not when they are so worried about him. They trust his partner, but they did warn me that he’s an enabler. He doesn’t stop Kellen from doing what he wants.” Brent’s eyes widened slightly.

“Uh, well, I guess that might be true sometimes, but Rhys does know how to persuade Kellen not to do something. He just…also doesn’t see a reason to stop Kellen when it only benefits him. I think it’s a good thing that he knows Kellen as well as he does.” Brent countered. It was interesting to hear how others viewed them and their relationship. It wasn’t wrong for Henry to think that Rhys was an enabler. He just might not also know how…how much Rhys liked that Kellen was a little unhinged.

Or…maybe he did. He had been married and imprinted for decades at this point.

Aunt Dina’s expression softened slightly as she stared at Brent. She shoved her phone into her pocket, her other hand on Brent’s upper arm before she slowly raised her hand up to cup Brent’s cheek with her hand. Brent wasn’t sure why she was doing so, but let her do it. She smiled.

“You look softer after speaking to him. You really like him, don’t you?” She asked and it felt like Brent was being faced with a great hurdle. He’d admitted that he was probably in a relationship, and had gone through those steps since he had to as soon as he laid his damn grimy hands on the pure S Class.

Hearing it spoken out like that just hit differently.

“I-” Brent’s words caught in his throat and he could feel how the others were watching him. Esper Parker was especially atrocious. He was looking at him with the kind of love that only felt paternal. Brent wasn’t used to this kind of treatment, and damn it, Brent’s face began to burn.

“Can we not talk about my feelings right now?” Brent whispered, running away and Aunt Dina chuckled softly.

“We can do that. What’s your drink of choice?” Aunt Dina asked, a woman used to running away herself.

“Gin.” Brent muttered. “Gin and tonics.” Brent clarified and Aunt Dina smiled warmly.

“A man after my own heart. Alright, come on over. I’ll get the drinks for us. The rest of you? Clear out. Don’t you have a family to tend to? I bet your partner’s pretty upset there, Jeff.” It took Brent a moment to realise that she was speaking to Esper Parker. Right. His first name was Jeff.

He smiled, laughed and shook his head.

“They’re very understanding. They also think Brent is as cute as a button so as long as I send a few candid shots, I’m in the clear.” Esper Parker said as he gave a general thumbs up. That was the first time Brent heard that.

“What?” Brent asked and Esper Parker grinned.

“Nothing scandalous, of course. More like…a person in motion? I’m rather good at getting quick shots. What to see?” He asked, shuffling over to show Brent the photos he’d taken of Brent. Brent stared at the phone, surprised at how clear they had come out, before he felt his mind begin to wander.

“Can you…send those to the number I just spoke to?” Brent asked shyly. “I think…he’d like it too.” Aunt Dina’s and Esper Parker’s smiles were warm, not teasing, but the others?

They looked like they were ready to jump on him.

“You know why? I have no dates tonight. I think I’ll stay around, keep you two company.” Esper Harris said, smirking. Esper Tracer had already found a spot for herself on the couch.

“My partner’s working late. I can hang around a little bit. What about you, Vance?” Esper Tracer asked, turning towards Esper Dickenson. The other man had been watching everything unfold, an unreadable look on his smiling face before Esper Tracer had put a spotlight on him.

“Regrettably, I am going to have to say no. I have some work waiting for me downstairs.” Esper Dickenson said, his eyes growing soft as he turned his gaze to Brent. “I’ve been working with a biotic company under the counter to see if we could manufacture something to help you, Brent. Two weeks is a tight deadline, so-” Brent stared at him, surprised.

He looked around the room, thinking that maybe this was the first time that the others had heard this, but he should have known better. They were a unit, acting as one. They knew that Esper Dickenson had been working on trying to get him another arm this whole time. Brent wasn’t quite sure what to say.

“Do…you want me to see if the prosthetics workshop is completely taken over?” Brent asked carefully and Esper Dickenson laughed. His smile was warm as he looked at Brent.

“We’ll save that for a last resort. I might just ask for you to come down to the Medical Bay once or twice in the next two weeks. I would rather not be lectured by your Guild for not doing enough. I respect Esper Green quite a lot for the advancements she’s made in her Guide care protocol.” That was the first time that Brent had heard that, but it also didn’t surprise him.

Taylor was a good Healer, a very good Healer. He just didn’t know that she’d made a Guide care protocol, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out why she would need one. Brent chuckled, shaking his head as he realised how much the Saturn Guild had seeped their fingers into everything.

Pamela was doing her damn job and getting her damn miles in. No wonder that poor woman was always tired, always at her wits end, and never wanted to go to the front lines. She had enough work on her plate getting into everyone else’s cities.

“I’ll have to tell Taylor that when I speak to her next. She’ll be embarrassed, and then brush it off.” Brent said with a smile, the tension leaving his shoulders as he spoke about something other than his love life, or the Woods family, or his own.

That reminded Brent, Sergei had referred to Brent as a child of the Woods family. Brent didn’t quite see it, but he was appreciative of the thought. He didn’t know the Woods couple as well as others thought. He’d been trying to keep his distance with them because he knew something like this was bound to happen. However, if Sergei was referring to him as such…it did make him curious what they had said to him.

What they had done.

Brent was finally whisked over to the couch, sat down, and told all about what was going on in a city that was hours away by flight. The drink in his hand didn’t feel like enough once he heard about what the fools over there were about to attempt, and why.

Rhys had had another vision, one that told him that Gunther was in trouble, which was why they were advancing ahead. Brent and Aunt Dina were only being told about it because once they knew about it, it would be too late for them to do anything.

Plus, Sergei, Brent’s Sergei, was holding a press conference in relation to the poison gate.

Brent couldn’t stop himself from staring at Aunt Dina in shock. He was also a few drinks in, no food, so he was feeling a little liberal with his words.

“My Sergei is doing a press conference? The same man who can convey 20 things without saying a damn word? What is he going to do? Stare at the camera until everyone agrees?” Brent asked and the room erupted in laughter. No one called him out on it, but Esper Parker was quietly filming Brent as he spoke.

Brent wasn’t aware of it, waving his hand around when it didn’t have a drink in it.

It was a nice reprieve after the stress, the anger, the cloud that hung over all of them was released. At least for the night. Even Aunt Dina seemed more relaxed after Brent’s phone call. It was a wonder what a less stressed A Class Guide could do to a group of Espers.

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